it's 4 o'clock in the morning, at the foot of kawah ijen. matrusen, age 31, catches a ride in a pickup heading for the volcano. about fifty other miners cram into the truck. the trip takes more than an hour and despite the hell that awaits them, the men are in good spirits. for matrusen and the others, the workday begins with a two-hour hike that serves as a warm up before facing the dangers of the volcano. matrusen has been a miner since he was 13, but he still gets scared every time he makes the descent into the crater. at the bottom of the volcano pipes collect molten sulphur. when the sulphur is brought to the surface, the contact with cold air hardens it, and then the miners break it down with an iron bar. the work of these men looks pretty simple, but it is very dangerous. at any time the wind can carry toxic acid fumes that burn their lungs. it's like gargling boiling water. none of these guys can afford gas masks, so their only protection from the deadly toxic fumes are scarves. after an hour of digging around in the belly of kawah ijen matru